1. Field of the Invention
In a structure for fixing an inside panel (interior decoration material) constituting a passenger room of a car, the present invention relates to a method of fixing an inside panel and a structure for fixing inside panels, which are particularly suitable for a railway car.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional structure for fixing an inside panel of a railway car is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 23262/1982. As shown in FIG. 1 of this reference, an inside panel is put onto frames fixed to an outside panel of a car through packings and is fixed by screws. Battens are attached by screws to the joint portion of the inside panels to cover the joint portion.
This fixing procedure will be explained. A packing is bonded by adhesive to a frame fixed to a car by welding. A cutting is then made so that the planes of a plurality of packings becomes flush, so as to eliminate unevenness of the surfaces that occurs due to welding. After tap screw holes are bored in the frames, the inside panels are fixed by screws.
The prior art technique described above involve problems in that the structure is complicated, the number of man-hours is larger and the appearance is poor.
To solve these problems, the prior art reference described above proposes a method illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4. Fasteners are provided on a frame and an inside panel, and the inside panel is fixed by the fasteners.
At the joint portion of the inside panels, one edge portion of the inside panels is shaped in a Z-shape and one edge portion of the other is shaped in an L-shape so that they can be engaged with each other.
The system, using fasteners described above, eliminates the necessity for screws and the number of man-hours is reduced. In the operation procedure of this system, frames are fixed to the car body and then fasteners are fixed to the frames by adhesive. Therefore, the reduction of the number of man-hours is small.
The system using fasteners does not require any specific treatment for the structure of the joint portion of the inside panels but does require the end portions of the inside panels to be bent.
Structures for fixing inside panels are shown in Photo 7, pp. 44 in "Car Technology", No. 182, (1988-3) and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 151166/1986. Neither of these references suggest the use of fasteners. The structure shown in the former reference is the one for fixing inside panels in a door pocket portion for storing a sliding door. The inside panels are fixed to inner frames of a weld structure secured to posts of a door pocket. In the structure disclosed in the latter reference, spacers of angle members are provided on ribs of outside panels and the inside panel are fixed to this spacer.
The present invention is directed to provide a more economical method and structure for fixing inside panels.